Wolf's Promise (Caedmon Wolves) by Ambrielle Kirk Read Free Book Online

her.
    “How can I trust you?” she asked.
    “You can trust that I will keep my word .”
    He sounded more hopeful than she felt . S he needed to get out of here and maybe worry about and consequences and repercussions later.
    Selene slipped her fingers down into her bra and took out the key. “I grabbed this somehow.”
    Picking up the key, he held it between them as they inspected it. “What happened to you before you came here? Why did Darius attack you?”
    She swallowed. It wasn’t something she wanted to think about or rehash. “He tried to rape me.”
    Nick’s face hardened in fury, and his lips were drawn taut. “I will kill him.”
    “ No more stalling around here .” She grasped his wrist. “It’s enough. I just want to go home.”
    The creases in his forehead disappeared. He opened her ha nd, and pressed the key into her palm. “As soon as the sun grazes the mountain tops…”

Chapter Six
     
    “Wait.” Selene gripped Nick’s forearm just as he bent to adjust his boot straps.
    She was anxious to be free of this dark and congested space. Anxious to escape the deserted town to be ba ck in the city she hated for being so crowded and unsafe. She would have given anything to turn back the time, but now that the moment had come to escape, doubt ran through her like a virus.
    Would he see her safely back on the road toward her hometown, or would he discover that she was too much of a hindrance and leave h er out in the middle of nowhere?
    Nick stood to face her, giving his full a ttention. “You have hesitations. ”
    “Those men seem dangerous.” She swallowed. “I think we need a weapon.”
    Selene thought she saw the corners of his lip upturn into a grin, but if he had done so, the expression was gone in an instant.
    “Whatever happens , Selene, you stay close to me.”
    “I’m just scared is all.”
    “We have a clear shot now. You remember our initial plans…we run until we reach the forest.”
    “ Right ,” she whispered, and handed him the key.
    “You’re a strong woman.” He took her hand, and squeezed gently. “You’ve made it this far.”
    Selene nodded. It had been a long journey. A journ ey that she suddenly wished she hadn’ t taken alone. It was time to face the consequences. She’d gotten h erself into this… “Let’s do it .”
    He le d the way quietly up the stairs, and slid the key in the lock. It fit perfectly in the slot, but when he pushed up on the ov erhead door, it didn’t give easily. From the way he applied force to it, she could tell that there was something else preventing the door from opening.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “They slid something over it .”
    Tu rning back , Nick pushed up again , harder this time . Dirt escaped the cracks as he lifted. T he hinges creaked and the object scraped the floor above them as he shoved. Something crashed and shook the stairs where they stood. The door finally gave way and banged int o the floor on the second level above them.
    Selene took a deep breath just as Nick grabbed her ha nd and helped her up the stairs and out of the dungeon.
    “Hey!” A big grisly-looking man emerged from the corner of the room and rushed them . He had a canteen in one ha nd and held the other hand up to stop them.
    Selene’s heart twisted in fear, and her gut feeling told her that they would not escape without some serious effort.
    Nick moved to stand in front of her and they back ed up toward the door. “Let us go and there will be no problems.”
    Grisly threw the canteen to the gr ound and some of the beverage splashed on the floorboards. The smell of strong liquor wafted under Selene’s nose.
    “Oh, we defini tely have a problem ,” he remarked, and then rushed Nick in response.
    It happened so fast she barely had time to focus on the scene before her . Nick captured the man, twisted him around, and snapped his neck. He fell to the ground lick a limp mummy. She was frozen in place, until Nick took her hand again.
    “Let’s